KSR Today: Dog Days of Summer

The first month of summer comes to an end on Sunday. We will turn the calendar to July on Monday, but there were plenty of memorable moments to remember. Kentucky played in their first-ever College World Series, Mark Pope‘s first team has started practice on campus, and Kentucky’s football recruiting started a hot streak adding eight commitments to the class over 16 days from June 9 to June 27.

But the eventful June ends now. July can be a slow time in the sports world. During MLB’s All-Star break, the quietest part of the sports calendar will arrive, but it also means that football season is quickly approaching. We will have to wait eight-plus weeks for some Kentucky games but do not expect things to slow down here at Kentucky Sports Radio.

NBA Summer League (July 12-22), EYBL Peach Jam (July 13-21), SEC Media Days (July 15-18), The Basketball Tournament (TBT) Lexington Regional (July 19-23), and the Summer Olympics (July 26-Aug. 11) will all get started in a couple of weeks. But we do have to play the waiting game until they arrive.

KSR will be here to keep you entertained.

Javeon Campbell locks in a commitment date

Frankfort (Ky.) Western Hills defensive lineman Javeon Campbell has become a priority target for Kentucky in the 2025 high school cycle. The top-200 recruit is now ready to make his college decision. A commitment will arrive on Tuesday morning.

Campbell took official visits to Miami (May 31-June 2), Kentucky (June 7-9), Auburn (June 10-12), and Alabama (June 14-16) during the live recruiting period. Ohio State was also involved in this recruitment. Now it’s time to shut things down.

Kentucky appears to be in good shape. On3‘s Vice President of Recruiting and Transfer Portal dropped another recruiting nugget on where Campbell’s recruitment stands over the weekend at KSBoard. Vince Marrow has the Big Blue in a good position. The Wildcats could add a fifth top-200 recruit to the 2025 class on Tuesday.

Want more Kentucky football recruiting intel? Join KSR Plus for the most comprehensive coverage of the Cats on the internet. With a KSR membership, you get access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.

Kentucky offers Braylon Mullins

Indiana native Braylon Mullins is one of the fastest-rising recruits in the class of 2025. The 6-foot-4 guard is a top-50 prospect starting to see his recruitment heat up. UConn, Michigan, North Carolina, Indiana, and Tennessee are all expected to get the four-star prospect on campus for an official visit in the fall.

Kentucky can now be added to that list after getting an official visit date (Oct. 25-27) locked in with Mullins following an unofficial visit to Lexington over the weekend. Mark Pope offered the prospect in a unique way at Rupp Arena.

“He took us to the top of Rupp and he was telling stories about how they won and everything,” Mullins explained. “How I could bring more championships here and just showing the future with me. I got my scholarship at the top of Rupp. So I thought that was a very cool experience, especially walking up there, I felt like I was gonna fall a couple of times. Overall I enjoyed it and I enjoyed the talks with Mark Pope.”

Mullins will be a target to follow closely moving forward.

Kentucky is battling for Darryn Peterson

Huntington (W. Va.) Prep guard Darryn Peterson is the No. 3 overall prospect in the class of 2025. The 6-foot-5 guard is a five-star recruit who is wanted by everyone in college basketball recruiting. The blue-chipper recently wrapped up an official visit to Kansas, but this recruitment is not over yet.

Ohio State has an official visit locked in with Peterson in August, while Kentucky, Louisville, USC, and Washington are all working on getting an official visit scheduled with the top-five recruit. Darryl Peterson, Darryn’s father, spoke with KSR+, and Mark Pope’s program is making a big push in this blue-blood recruitment.

“They’ve got us excited about Kentucky basketball,” Darryl said. “He’s excited about Kentucky. It’s about the tradition and platform of Kentucky. We’re excited about Kentucky. We understand how excited Kentucky is about its athletes and the new Kentucky. That’s definitely one of the top schools we’re considering.”

Texas is feeling itself heading into SEC transition

On July 1, the Southeastern Conference will officially welcome new members Oklahoma and Texas to the league. That will give the top conference in college sports 16 full-time members and eliminate the division structure in football.

One thing we know heading into this new era is that the new league members will not be boring. Most notably, Texas will likely think they run the league from day one. The Longhorns are already talking like that.

“We’re going to be everybody’s biggest game, for sure,” Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers said Friday at the Manning Passing Academy.

The Longhorns just hired away Texas A&M head baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle following a national runner-up finish, and athletics director Chris Del Conte was loud about Oklahoma-Texas being the best rivalry in the SEC at spring meetings. The Horns are brash, confident, and cocky. We all better get used to it.

The school with seemingly more money and resources than anyone else seems to be making this transition at the right.

For 12 consecutive seasons (removing the COVID-19 year), Texas lost at least four games each season from 2010-22. In the 2020 COVID-19 season, the Longhorns finished 7-3. The program could not get out of its own way, but that changed in year three under Steve Sarkisian. The former Washington and USC head coach led the program to their first-ever College Football Playoff berth with a 12-1 record and a win over Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Longhorns are a top-five recruiting operation that is built to win games in the SEC with Sark taking some of the Nick Saban blueprint to Austin. With many pieces returning, Texas is a bonafide national championship contender in 2024.

They are talking like it heading into the year. I bet we get some more braggadocious comments from the Horns in Dallas during SEC Media Days in two weeks. Fan bases in this league will soon learn to loathe the burnt orange. That will create some fun moments and some new rivalries.